Carlos Sainz Urges Williams Staff to ‘Take It Personal’ Amid 2026 Struggles

Carlos Sainz has revealed the motivational message he shared with Williams Formula 1 team personnel following a challenging start to the 2026 season.

Having achieved two podium finishes with the Grove-based team during his debut season in 2025, expectations were high for Sainz’s second year with Williams. However, the team encountered significant setbacks early in 2026, missing crucial private testing sessions in Barcelona and arriving at pre-season testing in Bahrain with an overweight car that limited their development opportunities.

Despite ongoing struggles with the 2026 regulation car, Williams has demonstrated commitment to its driver lineup by securing contract extensions with both Alex Albon and Sainz for future seasons.

During a recent episode of Williams’ official “Team Torque” podcast, Sainz discussed his approach to leadership and motivation alongside Albon and team principal James Vowles, sharing insights from a recent address to the factory team.

“First of all, a Formula 1 team is full of individuals who are brilliant at what they do. That’s why they are in a Formula 1 team, and to be brilliant at what they do, they’ve had to go through similar experiences to what Alex just mentioned,” Sainz explained, referencing Albon’s discussion about building resilience through challenging life experiences.

Carlos Sainz, Williams

Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images

“So F1 teams are built on individuals that have that resilience and that mental toughness. What I like doing, which is what I mentioned the other day in front of the factory, I said, ‘Take it personal. If we are not where we want to be or if we are going through a tough moment, take it personal.

“‘Build it up on you to say, ‘I’m going to come out of the other side of it.’ Because if you do, your level of confidence ramps up; it multiplies by 10 suddenly. So if you really dig deep and go through that tough moment, you know that what’s after that is a 10 times better version of yourself.'”

“And I always try to motivate myself to say I need to get through this because after this there is the paradise, a different level of me. And like pushing through it and taking accountability, taking it personal in a way.”

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